White Supremacy?

PARK FOREST — The Robbins incinerator controversy is a classic example of

institutionalized white supremacy in operation (I do not use the term

``racism`` here, because it has become too entwined with ``race hatred``

and derails attention from far more extensive race-based problems than hate). Here we have all these white controllers and dominators of municipalities and environmentalist associations coming down on Robbins-an African American- led community working hard to pull itself up by the boot straps. These very same whites spend considerable time deriding Robbins (and all other African American-run communities) for their shortcomings, and telling the towns what they ``ought`` to do; and then when a Robbins does exactly that, down come the efforts to block it.

If Robbins had no good environmental case for what it intends to do, some of the fight against it might be better justified. But the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued the town a permit. And then whites feign indignation when African Americans support Gus Savage, or opt out of cooperation with whites in white-led civic crusades.